The live-action “Beauty and the Beast” movie has been one of the most highly anticipated films of 2017. According to The Guardian, the original teaser-trailer broke the record for the number of views of a teaser-style trailer. It was viewed 91.8 million times in the first 24 hours of its release. This film featured several of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Emma Watson, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens.

Photo By Melissa Hillier

According to Deadline, in its first opening weekend, the feature film earned a record-breaking $170 million-plus. It is no surprise that hundreds of people headed to the movies to watch one of their most beloved childhood films come to life. To be honest, I believe most adults were more excited than their children — I know I was more into the movie than the kids watching around me!

Although this movie already had an established fan base due to the classic 1991 film, what exactly made the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” such a huge success? I’ll tell you; it was the outstanding amount of publicity prior to the opening.

The film’s social media game was strong. Not only did the film have promotion from its personal movie page, but also Disney, Walt Disney Animation and many more of The Walt Disney Company’s multiple social media pages were posting promotional content for this movie. Millions of users had exposure to clips, photos and details of the film and its opening dates due to the variety of pages posting.

The “Beauty and the Beast” Twitter page (@beourguest) was highly interactive. Followers could sign up for a tweet reminder from their favorite celebrity in the movie, and they would be tweeted from the @beourguest verified account close to the opening date as a reminder to buy tickets. This was an amazing way to gain followers, retweets and buzz for the movie.

Several of the celebrities in the movie were constantly posting on their personal pages. One of the most influential social media users in the film is Josh Gad, who plays LeFou. Gad continually posted photos and videos of himself, his co-stars, backstage photos of the set, etc.

Once the movie premiered, Gad surprised fans in theaters, and he posted about his surprise adventures on his personal account as well as on Disney’s account. These surprise pop-ups enticed even more people to go see the movie in hopes that Gad would surprise them in their local theater.

Photo By Melissa Hillier

Another piece of the publicity puzzle that led the film to success was the unveiling of innovative movie posters. The “Beauty and the Beast” team released a series of single shots of the most beloved characters in the movie. The shots of these characters weren’t simply still photos; they were moving clips highlighting the character’s personality in the movie. These never-before-seen, innovative posters intrigued many and created amazing publicity for the movie.

The publicity team made sure the movie and the actors in the movie were constantly being seen in the public eye. Visibility is key for an effective promotional campaign, and this cast was visible 24/7. The movie previews constantly played on TV stations, the social media sites promoted content to be seen across a wider audience, posters were placed in every movie theater out there, and the list goes on and on.

The cast was on talk shows, posting content from filming and hosting funny clips. My personal favorite promotional stunt was when the movie stars teamed up with James Corden for a highly comical “Beauty and the Beast” crosswalk parody.

A publicity team can make or break a movie. The “Beauty and the Beast” publicity team definitely contributed to the huge worldwide success of the film. I could speak on the many successes of this film’s publicity team forever.

It is absolutely no shock that Disney hit another home run. I want to thank everyone who was a part of this movie for keeping the magic alive in one of my — and plenty of others’ — favorite childhood movies. I laughed, I cried and I definitely got in my feels. I highly encourage every person out there to see this movie.

And to the publicity team: Thank you for ensuring the success of the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” film; your hard work did not go unnoticed.